world in tangibly human terms. “Personification is a metaphor or simile that treats something non-human as if it were human”
Symbol can be defined as a person, place, or thing in a narrative that suggest meanings beyond its literal sense. Symbol is related to allegory, but it
works more complexly. In an allegory an object has a single additional significance. By contrast, a symbol usually contains multiple meanings and
association. According to Guth and Rico 561, “A symbol is something that you can see but that taken on a meaning beyond itself”.
B. Historical Review of World War I
Most of John McCrae’s poems are talk about war as the main theme. In analyzing his poems it is important to have enough knowledge about World War I
in general and The Second Battle of Ypres in specific, where John McCrae made his poem “In Flanders Fields”. This section presents a brief story about World
War I, and The Second Battle of Ypres.
1. A Brief History of World War I
In early 1914, the continental of Europe was the focal point of the entire world, a distinction it had enjoyed for centuries. Most of the world’s great
industrial, military, and naval powers were European states. Europe’s trade was massive and worldwide in scope. Its intellectual and cultural achievements were
still the envy of most other country. All of this would chance dramatically as the result of a conflict that broke
out on the continental in the summer of 1914. It proved to be of unprecedented
ferocity and lasted more than four years. The generation suffered through it called it the Great War. We remember it as World War I.
World War I, erupted in Balkan, commenced between 28th of July 1914 until 11th of November 1918. On June 28, 1914 the Austria-Hungary Archduke,
Franz Ferdinand, along with his wife, Duchess Sophie, was assassinated in Sarajevo Bosnia by the Serbian nationalists, Gravilo Princip. Endorsed by the
Germany, Austria-Hungary decided to punish Serbia. Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia on 28th of July 1914. Russia, which supported Serbia, attacked by German.
In order to arrive in Paris as soon as possible, the German army struck Belgium, a small nation. Belgium fought back.
German won the war yet French, Britain and Russia kept fighting. German, Austria-Hungary were called the Axis Powers while the nations which
opposed it were called the Alliance. During the war, other nations stated their involvement. Being interested in conquering Austria, Italy joined the Alliance in
1915 and the USA entered the war within the Alliance in 1917. German almost won the war regardless how powerful the Alliance was.
On late 1914, German conquered Luxemburg, most part of Belgium and some part of north French. German also trounced over Eastern Front while Russian
attempts were a total failure. Around 1918, German armies were dead-tired. Their rations were insufficient and social drift within their country add up the tense. In
the meantime, the USA armies were just arrived to aid the Alliance. In summer 1918, German signed an armistice in November 11.
Under Versailles Treaty which was signed after World War I, German
administered its colonies and some part of its European land as in Poland, Silesia and West Prussia. Alsace and part of Lorraine were administered to French.
French was also given the power to rule Saar for 15 years. This treaty also put Rhineland under the Alliance power for 15 years. German armies were shrunken
to no more than 100,000 soldiers and air forces were prohibited. German also paid a large sum to the Alliance for the war damage.
There were roughly 8,6 millions people died during World War I. The Alliance lost 5,1 millions people while the Axis Powers lost 3,5 millions. The war
caused massive destruction to all nations involved. It also put an end to German, Russia, Ottoman and Austria-Hungaria Empires. World War I known as the war
that ends all wars until World War II commenced.
2. The Second Battle of Ypres
